


Christmas Presents and Futures

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-10-28
Updated: 2004-10-28
Packaged: 2019-05-15 16:40:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14794164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: CJ gets everything she wanted for Christmas... and a little more.





	Christmas Presents and Futures

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Christmas Presents and Futures**

**by: Donna Clark**

**Character(s):** CJ  
**Pairing(s):** CJ/Danny  
**Category(s):** General, Romance  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** CJ gets everything she wanted for Christmas... and a little more.  
**Author's Note:** OK, so I don 't usually write FanFic, I 'm more of "my own ideas" kind of girl. But I 've been obsessed with the West Wing for so long that I thought I would try it out. What do you think? Tell me! 

C.J. 's eyes opened entirely on their own. It was bright in her room. She felt disoriented because this lightness was so out of the ordinary. Usually when she woke up in the morning the sun was still asleep. The clock on her bedside table read 7:38. She sat bolt upright. "Oh My God. I over slept!" she said out loud. She heard a groan from next to her. Scared she 'd gotten drunk and brought home Josh or something, she turned to the sleeping form. It was Hogan, her niece. Relieved and even more confused, CJ stood up. She put on a bathrobe and headed out into her humble apartment kitchen. As she stepped inside she saw three powerful explanations for why she had slept until seven thirty: Mark, Dan, and tinsel. 

"Merry Christmas, Ceege!" Mark said pulling her into a hug. Dan smiled and poured her a cup of coffee. 

"Hey guys! I forgot you were here… to tell you the truth, I forgot it was Christmas!" C.J. said and gladly accepted the coffee. 

"You never really were the Christmas type." Dan said as he turned on the TV to see if there was any golf on. "Did you wake the sleeping giant?" 

"No, she scared the living crap out of me, though." C.J. sipped the coffee and helped Dan with the sports stations. 

"Why? She 's not so bad. But, I guess, if you get to close to her, she can kill you with that breath." Mark chuckled, grabbing a cup for himself. 

"That 's not very nice. No, I actually thought I 'd given in and intoxicated one of my coworkers." C.J. sat down at the table. 

"HA! Like you would be the one your drunk friends would go to for comfort!" Dan, finding no golf of interest, said ducking her swing. 

"Morning all!" Hogan smiled as she entered the kitchen. 

"Hello," they all said. 

"Sleep well everyone?" she asked, taking a mug from the dishwasher. 

"Hogan, since when do you drink coffee?" C.J. inquired, feeling incredibly old. 

"Oh, since yesterday." Hogan said, pouring a cup full, "It 's the only thing you had to consume at the West Wing and we were there for so long." She sipped and quite clearly burned her tongue. 

"Yeah, sorry about that. The Russian thing came up at the last minute. Someone should tell them that testing nuclear devices seems wrong on Christmas Eve." C.J. smiled. 

"I 'm surprised you 're up this late, Hogan." Mark said to his daughter. 

"Yeah, me too! Usually I 'm the first out of bed on Christmas… I guess I crashed after all the caffeine." She said, "OK, now… were is my pony, dad! You told me when I was 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and so on every year that you would give me my pony when I was 18. Here I am, 18, and I see no pony. Explain yourself." 

"Well, dear, I 'm sorry. I told C.J. that you should be geting a pony this year but she talked me out of it." Mark smirked. 

"I did no such thing! In fact, I did quite the opposite!" They all laughed. 

Dan switched off the TV and pulled a pan of sweet smelling pastries out of the oven. 

"Did you make those all by yourself?" C.J. asked sarcastically, knowing full well that he 'd brought them from home. 

"Why, yes! I had a little help from my wife but I did the brunt of the work." They laughed again. 

"Let 's take the food out to the tree where we can open presents." C.J. suggested. 

"Good idea, Claudia!" Mark bellowed. They retired to the small living room where a medium sized evergreen stood, covered in the Cregg family 's ornament collection. 

"Which one should we break this year?" Mark asked, perfectly serious. 

"I don 't know," C.J. replied. 

Dan reached out and took a glass reindeer off the tree, "this one." He said. 

"Of course," Hogan replied, "It 's dad 's favorite." She smiled. 

Mark grimaced but made no move to stop him. Dan went to the kitchen and they all heard a good crunch as the deer met the end under his foot. The three got settled around the tree as Dan cleaned up the mess he 'd made. 

"OK," C.J. grinned as Dan reentered. "Who goes first?" 

"Lets go youngest to oldest." Hogan suggested, "Seeing as it is also ladies first, I don 't see how we can do it any other way." 

"Always the level headed girl I love." Mark said, suppressing a grin. 

"Right… anyway." Hogan said expectantly looking at her father. 

"I told you. The pony just wasn 't going to fit in the elevator." Mark couldn 't control the hilarity of the situation and began laughing which induced everyone else 's glee. 

"You better have gotten me something, Dad, or I 'm going to fly out to California to be with mom and Glen!" Hogan said, knowing that her father felt compelled to give her things whenever she mentioned her new stepfather. 

"Fine, it 's the pink one with the bow." He said, sobering up. "What??" He said to his brother who had raised his eyebrows at the word 'pink ', "The woman at the store wrapped it!" 

Hogan went over to the tree and picked up the small square box. She untied the bow and peeled off the paper. It was a small and gold colored with an emerald engraving in the top. She opened the lid and found a sparkling diamond pendent on a silver chain. 

"Oh my…" she said, bringing her hand to her mouth, "Dad… wow." Was all she managed to get out. She stood and hugged him. She tilted the box so that C.J. and Dan could see it. "It 's beautiful, dear!" C.J. said eyeing Mark with slightly more respect than earlier in the day. Hogan slipped the chain out of the box and put it around her neck. 

"Ok, I want to give her mine next!" Dan said. He reached under the tree and pulled out a cylindrical box and handed it to the dazed Hogan. She slowly unwrapped it. She found a tube containing one gold plated rose. 

"Uncle Dan! Wow, this must have cost you so much money!" 

"Nah, kiddo. It is one of six hundred my company made from the roses we gathered from all over the world. This one is a Royal Sunset Climbing Rose. They are really gorgeous but they don 't last very long when separated from each other. I hope you like it!" 

"Oh my, I do!" she gazed at it. 

C.J. smiled, knowing that her gift was far more circumstantial than shiny. "OK, enough with all the male-I-don 't-know-what-girls-like gifts. I have a real present." C.J. picked up an envelope from the tree and handed it to Hogan. She opened the flap and withdrew a letter. She glanced at C.J. with a wrinkled brow. Hogan unfolded the pages and found two pieces of paper. One was a letter from the President of the United States and the First Lady wishing her a merry Christmas and a safe new year. The other was a letter from Zoey Bartlet, the youngest first daughter. It read as follows: 

  

_Dear Hogan,_

_C.J. me that your dad was planning on not coming through with his 11 year promise of giving you a pony. Well, I can 't give you one either but I would really like it if you 'd join me and my family at our farm in New Hampshire this Christmas week. I have a nice stallion named Quince that I think you might enjoy. Please consider it. I will be leaving on December 25 th at 2:30pm on Marine One. I hope to see you there,_

_All the riding you can imagine awaits you,_

_Zoey Bartlet_

  

Hogan gaped at the letter. She was astonished. "Wait," she said finally, "THE Zoey Bartlet just asked me to spend a week at THE family farm belonging to THE President?" She looked at C.J. 

C.J. could barely contain her joy at giving this gift, "Yup. And please don 't feel obliged to go just because she 's got an important father." C.J. said not wanting Hogan to do something she wasn 't interested in. Hogan grinned and through her empty necklace box at C.J. who easily dodged. 

"Of course I 'm going! Sorry uncle Dan," she added. 

"For what?" he asked confused. 

"For not being able to go around DC with you and Laura this week." She said sincerely. 

"Don 't worry about it! I 'm sure Mark will be happy to step in for you!" Dan elbowed his brother who retorted under his breath, "thrilled…" 

The phone rang just then. C.J. jumped up and answered the one next to the door. "Hello?" 

Pause. 

"Yes, ma 'm. Of course." 

Pause. 

"I will, Mrs. Bartlet." 

Pause. 

"Certainly." 

She put the phone down and walked over to Hogan. "Honey, the First Lady would like to speak with you about arrangements." 

"THE First Lady?" Hogan asked surprised. 

"Yes." C.J. laughed. 

Hogan got up and talked to the phone. C.J. returned to her place on the floor, she looked at Mark and they shared a proud smile. Dan went into the kitchen for some more coffee for everyone. 

"You are too much, Ceege." Mark grinned at his little sister. 

"Ha, Zoey asked if she could invite Hogan and I said it was fine with me. She spent yesterday with Charlie so she 's leaving today while the rest of the Bartlets went up yesterday morning. I should have checked with you but it was all so fast." C.J. apologized. 

"No, it so nice of you." He smiled at her. 

"Thanks." She said to both brothers as Dan handed her another cup of coffee. 

"OK, now time for C.J. 's presents." Hogan said as she returned from the phone call. 

"OH, you guys are too much… I don 't want anything more than all of you here with me." She said, meaning every word. 

"Um, I think you 'll want the presents too." Dan said. 

"Reluctantly I shall accept them, yes." C.J. laughed. 

"Hogan, you go first." Mark said. 

"Um, mine hasn 't arrived yet. Sorry, Aunt C.J. It 'll be in your office at three or so." Hogan said glancing at the clock. 

"I don 't care, dear! Thanks for thinking of me!" C.J. hugged her niece. 

The present giving continued. C.J. received a political thesaurus from Dan and four very suggestive salad tongs from Mark. She laughed at each one and hugged the giver. She was so happy they had come to be with her on this day. She then presented Mark and Dan with matching socks and sweaters hand knitted by some Taiwanese refugees. They enjoyed it. They all ate a small lunch of left over Christmas Eve food. After everything was devoured and all the wrapping paper had been thrown away it was already 1pm. 

"Hogan," C.J. said, "come along, I 'll take you to Marine One on the west lawn." 

"West lawn of what?" 

"The white house." C.J. said, getting on her coat and scarf. 

"THE white house!?" Hogan said, stopping in mid-sleeve. 

"Yes!" C.J. laughed, "Try not to act so star struck in front of the Bartlets!" 

2:47pm En Route to Press Secretary 's Office 

C.J. saw Hogan and Zoey off and then went back to her office to grab a file on Russian missile tests she 'd forgotten in all the fuss of the previous day. She opened the door and walked into her office. She smiled at the peace and quiet caused by the lack of useless aids and press. Gail was swimming lazily around a perennial Christmas tree in the center of her bowl. C.J. 's smile fell a little bit. She fed the fish and turned to her piles of paper. She leafed through for 20 minutes, having no luck. She was almost positive she 'd left it on the top of the front most pile, but it had disappeared. This was bad news. The file only contained press clippings from the last 10 years, but it would alert whoever had it that there was something going on with Russian and missiles. 

"Looking for something?" Said a husky, soothing voice from the doorway. C.J. didn 't need to look up. She knew who the stranger was. 

"What did you do with my file?" C.J. said faking to look through the pile again. 

She man walked into the room and sat down on her couch, "What file?" he asked innocently. 

"How did you know I would be coming back for it this afternoon?" she said, finally looking at the handsome red head. 

"I have my sources." 

"Hogan." C.J. said, understanding what her niece was trying to do. 

"I will never tell." Danny said, standing and walking towards the love of his life. C.J. backed away. 

"Danny, just because it 's Christmas doesn 't change the facts about this." She said this with a look of longing and pain in her eyes. "Our jobs, our bosses, the public perception…" 

He kept coming closer until C.J. hit the bookshelf and couldn 't retreat anymore. He put a hand on each of her hips and started to lean towards her. 

"Danny," she gasped her breath growing shallower, "we can 't--" 

"I don 't care." He said and brushed his lips against hers. She put her hands on his chest expecting to push him away, but instead she grabbed his suspenders and pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss. After that C.J. couldn 't remember what year it was and every scrap of information about Russia and missiles seemed to melt away. 


End file.
